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Right to a Decent Standard of Living

The inhabitants of a number of informal settlements in Dhaka were evicted by the government without notice. Their homes were also demolished by bulldozers. The Supreme Court of Bangladesh referred to the Indian Supreme Court case of Olga Tellis v Bombay Municipal Corporation, [1985]. It held that there was a fundamental right to livelihood which derived from such fundamental rights as the right to life, dignity, and equal protection of the law. The government, then, had to ensure that its people had the basic provisions of life, including shelter. The Court also directed the government to make guidelines for the resettlement of inhabitants of informal settlements. Thus, even though the Supreme Court of Bangladesh was not bound by the decisions of the Supreme Court of India, it was nevertheless influenced by at least one of them.